Nokia Lumia 920 review

Operating systemThe Lumia 920 is the first Nokia smartphone to come running Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 operating system, which brings a host of new features to the latest top-end Lumia handset.

The most noticeable feature is Windows Phone's new customisation options, enabling users to resize Live Tiles to create a more personalised smartphone experience. Sure, it doesn't sound all that great, but it certainly managed to impress us. There are a number of new themes added to the mobile operating system, which means that it's easier to match live tiles with the colour of your Lumia handset.

Microsoft's preloaded app selection isn't all that bad either. Xbox Music and Games likely will be a huge draw for owners of the Microsoft console, and Nokia Maps puts IOS to shame with its detailed satellite maps and impressively accurate direction giving skills.

Windows Phone 8 is great for business customers too. Microsoft's mobile Office Suite comes preinstalled, which when combined with Skydrive cloud storage, users can continue editing documents when they have left the office. Microsoft has also made it ridiculously easy to set up business email accounts. Though we've found this to be a struggle on IOS and Android, we simply had to enter just our username and password to get this to work on Windows Phone 8.

Although we've been mostly impressed by Windows Phone 8, we're still disappointed by the lack of big name apps available to download from the Windows Store. The lack of Spotify, for example, certainly will make it difficult for millions to switch to Microsoft's mobile operating system, and hipsters won't be too pleased to hear that Instagram is still not available on Windows Phone 8. Even a Skype app was nowhere to be found during our time with the Nokia Lumia 920 handset.

Nokia appsWhile we were let down by the small number of apps available for Windows Phone 8, Nokia has added several of its own features to the Lumia 920, unlike its rival HTC. Most of these apps are excellent, too.

City Lens is amongst our favourites. This camera application uses your location and offers an augmented reality display of nearby hotspots, be those restaurants, landmarks or shops. We used the app around Central London and found that it worked perfectly.

Nokia Music also comes preloaded on the Lumia 920, for those not too keen on Microsoft's Xbox offering. This almost got us over our disappointment at the lack of Spotify, as it offers a huge catalogue of songs that are available to stream for free.

Yes, it's silly, but another app that we loved was Cinemagraph, which allows you to take GIF images that can then be uploaded straight to the web. Unfortunately Facebook sharing isn't yet available, but Nokia has told us that this will be coming within the next few weeks.